Syrinix – Innovation In Utilities

Posted
on: 13/04/2018

Syrinix provides intelligent pipeline monitoring and has done since inception in 2004. Syrinix began life as a research project at the University of East Anglia (UEA) ‘spinning out’ to become a commercial entity.

The general theme of all products and service offerings is to offer utilities –

high quality precise data

a view of their networks they would not otherwise have

The ability to transform how they operate their networks in terms of efficiency and efficacy

All products feed into the cloud-based data platform RADAR, by which users can view data, configure devices, receive alerts and download reports.

The hardware sales are accompanied by annual software licencing with remote upgrade functionality.

PIPEMINDER-T

PIPEMINDER -T provides permanent precision leak detection plus locating on large critical high consequence trunk mains, thus ensuring a continuous and uninterrupted supply of water. PIPEMINDER-T assists utilities to better understand their underground assets, searching for leaks without the need for service disruption. Deployments with utilities around the globe are enabling operators to precisely locate small emerging leaks on monitored critical trunk mains, allowing proactive planning to avert catastrophic failures. Early warning enables the utility to make informed decisions which in turn minimises infrastructure damage, repair costs and leakage. Critical assets can be proactively renewed, headline grabbing bursts avoided, asset life extended and successfully deferring the cost of replacement.

The permanently deployed system enables continual leak detection without the disadvantages of closing roads, giving access to pipelines to third parties, risking potential contamination of water supply or other issues associated with survey methods. Nor is the utility dependent on a snap shot in time perspective on the condition of the pipeline.

PIPEMINDER-T automatically collects acoustic data from paired units which is then processed through a series of leak detection algorithms and is assessed within RADAR. Multiple data sets are reviewed, and confidence-based alerts are reported only when needed, due to built-in false positive mitigation.

To demonstrate, WaterOne, a utility in Kansas detected a leak via a simulated test at just at just 0.075 litres/second on 760mm lined cylinder pipe. This was detected by a pair of PIPEMINDER-T’s 2000m apart. Using high resolution pressure and flow data, PIPEMINDER-T also provides transient detection with burst alert capability.

Paired with PIPEMINDER-T, RADAR provides the clearest and most accurate visualisation of leak detection and network activity. Utilities are therefore, able to manage critical pipeline assets and the related risks on an active and informed basis rather than in a reactionary way.

For risk management of larger (9”/22cm) supply pipelines in high consequence locations

High resolution event data, (pressure transients and bursts), is uploaded to RADAR, providing immediate insight to the utility. PIPEMINDER-S highlights events whether absolute pressure exceeds a maximum level or not, recognising that constant oscillations within a pipeline, causing ‘fatigue’, can also lead to leaks and bursts. It is this approach – the ‘Syrinix S3 severity score’ – which enables utilities to make changes to calm networks and extend infrastructure lifetimes.

PIPEMINDER-S identifies problems that would simply not be identified with conventional low-resolution data logging. Precision time stamping across multiple devices allows events to be sequenced and traced as they progress throughout the network, enabling utilities to identify, locate and trace events, find the cause of the problem and solve it. Utilities can optimise pressure and calm their network, understand anomalies, proactively plan mitigations and reduce operational costs. By combining high resolution data with automated analysis and alerts, global utilities are now able to increase the resilience of their networks.

Installed on gravity mains of any material or diameter, PIPEMINDER-C grades damaging transients using the ‘Syrinix S3 score’. This helps users to pinpoint asset repair and management activities, making it a key tool for mitigating the risks associated with operating aging wastewater pipelines.